Patriots Postgame Quotes - 9/30/2012

On how frustrated the team was down 21-7:Well, I think we realized we had to execute a lot better than we were executing. We talked on the sideline, we talked about it at halftime, in order to score points we can’t keep stubbing our toe. I thought we did a better job in the second half. Obviously the turnovers were huge. To get those the defense was really getting after them. The fumble before halftime was huge. We were down whatever it was, 21-7 on the road, our backs were against the wall, and I thought we showed a lot of heart. That’s what this team is made of, we’re going to battle until the end, I know that.

On what today’s performance says about this year’s Patriots team:We lost two in a row, we go on the road, our fifth and sixth on the road including the preseason. We had two really tough losses, games that we expected to win. Then you come and play against a team that we lost to last year up 21 points, and we showed a lot of heart. That’s a lot of adversity we faced and I thought we did a really good job of responding to that in the second half.

On how good he thinks this Patriots team is right now:Well I think we’re trying to make improvements every week. I’d say that’s what we’ve done. I know we’re 2-2, it’s not a great record, but I think we’re getting better. I think that’s what we’ve shown and you have to keep building on the good things and try to eliminate the bad things. We’re doing a good job in some areas. We ran the ball really well tonight. That was a big point of emphasis this week, and capitalizing on some of their mistakes.

On how the offense ran the ball on Buffalo’s defense today:Well, I think they were really challenging us to run the ball. They had some little guys on the field with our big personnel groupings, so at that point you have to try and take advantage of it. You can’t just keep throwing into a heavy pass defense, so we ran it. Brandon ran great, Steven ran great, Woody (Danny Woodhead) made a huge play on the scramble for the touchdown to get us started. All of those guys really contributed.

On how he is so good handling the offense in a loud environment:Well, I mean you’re the quarterback, so ultimately you have the last say before the ball is snapped. I’ve seen a lot of defenses; we’ve been in a lot of dogfights too. I thought our guys, the way they played, the way they competed, what a game by Wes. Brandon fought his butt off, that touchdown catch at the end was phenomenal. Gronk really fought back after some tough plays there, big touchdown. Offensive line played phenomenal with Logan out. Deion, Daniel, everybody contributed. It was really a great win for us as a team, obviously it only gets tougher from here, but we’re proud of the fact that we really fought through some pretty tough times here in the second half and came up with a big win.

On facing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos next week:Fortunately I don’t have to go against him, so that’s really a challenge for our defense. They’ll put a good week of practice in hopefully and be prepared, but he’s one of the best to ever play. It’s always an exciting game, we’ve got a great history against Denver, recent history. I’m sure it will be another tough game.

On what Patriots owner Robert Kraft was talking to him about walking off the field:I don’t know, I think it was pretty personal. Thank you guys, have a good day.

RUNNING BACK BRANDON BOLDEN

On wearing the Bills defense downWe just stuck to the game plan, and I did what I was asked to do. We made the best out of every opportunity.

On sticking to the rushing game down two touchdownsYou have to ask the offensive coordinator, and coach because I have no idea. Like I said, I was just doing what I had to do.

On what it takes to go on a 35-0 run on the roadComposure, you have to keep composure no matter what happens on the field. We could have been down 4 touchdowns, or we could have been down 10 touchdowns. You just have to keep your composure and go out there and do your job.

On how it feels to see the Game Plan workNo offense, but it’s just like how you guys work to ask questions all day. Think about getting that perfect answer, and that’s how it feels. We get out there and do what we do, and it just feels great. All of that hard work.

LINEBACKER JEROD MAYO

On the second halfDefinitely, against a good team like Buffalo in this atmosphere. It’s loud in here, it reminds me of a college atmosphere and it took a lot of composure and a lot of guys sticking together.

On the hard hits on defenseDefinitely, we always pride ourselves on being physical and that’s what we tried to do today.

On Brandon SpikesYeah, he made some big plays. Went in there hit a lot of people, forced some turnovers, and that came up big for us.

On the mood in the huddle at the end of the second halfThat we just had to make a play. I heard a lot of guys in the huddle saying let’s make a play we can’t give them a touchdown and guys went out there and got it done.

On Vince WilforkDefinitely, I think (Brandon) Spikes came in there and hit the running back hard on that one too. So, it was a team game and those guys really came up and made a big play for us.

On the fumble before the halfI think it was huge but at the end of the day we really felt like we aren’t really playing our game and were only down 14 points or something like that. So, we had a lot of confidence it never wavered in this locker room.

On closing out with a big leadTo be honest with you we weren’t really thinking about that we were just thinking about today and winning a division game against a good opponent in their house so that’s the only mindset we had.

TIGHT END ROB GRONKOWSKI

On getting back onto the field after fumbling the ball:Yeah it’s tough, I had a fumble and everything, a couple of drops, and I just need to execute plays. I can’t be having that. It hurts the team a lot, I need to be protecting the ball better. No doubt about that. It’s awesome that Tom came back to me, trusted my abilities, trusted me the whole game, kept throwing me passes. A lot of great plays, running backs had great games, the o-line men -- overall, it was a great team, awesome team win.

On the turning point offensively:The 3rd quarter for sure, just running the ball, out there executing. We got to be doing that for all four quarters, not turning the ball over, going out, being able to run the ball. Third quarter, we got our rhythm going, and it ended up going pretty well.

On not feeling like New England was out of it:You can’t panic. It’s a long game, and that’s why you got to play all 60 minutes, and that’s what we did. We played all 60 minutes, we just got to come out stronger in the 1st half, and be able to execute better. That’s what you got to do.

On the play of the defense:The defense played a great game, I think it was six turnovers, Devin McCourty had a couple of interceptions, couple of fumble recoveries, especially on the goal line, end of the half was huge by Vince Wilfork. Great job, and it helps the chemistry going with the offense, defense was playing great. Complementary football we were playing in the 2nd half, and things went well from there.

On the mood on the bench:It wasn’t the end of the game, it was only the 2nd half, we knew we were kind of making some plays, we just had to keep on executing, and making plays. You don’t want to panic, because when you panic, nothing good happens, and we just stick to what our offense does, our gameplan. Everyone on the offense was doing a great job, The O-lineman, to the receivers, the running backs, the quarterback, everything went well from there.

On making it look easy:It’s not as easy as it looks. It’s the NFL, those guys are out there, they are great players, you got to work your butt off, you got to be going full speed in order to execute, in order to make plays. Overall, everyone just game together, chemistry, and worked hard, and things went rolling from the 3rd quarter on.

On coming back home:It’s great coming home, friends and family, it’s great to give them that victory too, but I’m proud to be a New England Patriot. I wasn’t going to miss it. [the game]

On reaction from fans:You hear things everywhere you go, whatever stadium you’re in. It’s all part of the game, and it’s all part of being a pro. It kind of puts the fun in the game too.

On the feeling after Buffalo scored off Gronkowski’s fumble and wanting to get back on the field:Definitely. It’s not a great feeling at all. I can tell you that right now. The very next play they throw a touchdown into the endzone. The thing is, you got to overcome things, just like if you have a great play, you got to move on, and stick with the game plan, and keep moving on forward.

RUNNING BACK STEVAN RIDLEY

On how the run game was not abandonedWe just made plays when they called our numbers. That’s all we can do, when they call our number we handle the plays.

On the Patriots offenseIt’s all about trying to move the football, moving down the field to score.

On the fumbles by the PatriotsThere are some things that we have to work on. Coach is going to be on us Monday, and were going to have to play. We just had to get this win today

On how running the ball impacted this gameWe worked on it hard this week in practice, and that’s what we do in and out of practice every week. When we mess up, we try and improve that as a team. The line did an exceptional job, and this wouldn’t have been done without them. It takes a team effort, with 10 other players out there to do what we did on the ground and I’m excited that those guys are doing work for us up front.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE VINCE WILFORK

On the second halfWe kept our poise. We knew coming here was going to be a tough game against a division team especially the Buffalo Bills always play us tough especially the first game. So, we just kept our poise, stuck together, we didn’t panic, and we just executed well and that’s one of the things coming into this week was executing. We did, so leaving the game with six turnovers, defensively playing well and all three phases helping one another with the field position, the offense putting some points on the board, and us getting some big stops. We all came together as one today so we just need more of these, more consistency and moving onto next week.

On the adjustments at halfContinue to execute. We were giving up big plays and we were shooting our self in the foot offensively and just going out in the second half we just wanted to play better football for 30 more minutes and we got it together. Like I said, we just kept our poise, and I think we showed a heart of a champion today. Being down on the road, dropped two in a row, backs against the wall and everybody kept their composure. We were poised, we executed well in the critical situations, came up with some big stops, big plays and that’s what we’re going to need going forward because it doesn’t get any easier for us so were going to need to put these things together now.

On the tone of the game right before halftimeJust to execute, our whole game plan was to execute well. We felt that we were doing a pretty decent job, the plays that we gave up we thought that we gave them, we just needed to be better on the plays but we kept to our game plan and we executed well. So, there wasn’t a big rah-rah speech it was just executing well.

On holding onto a lead after what happened last yearOur goal is to play well every week. We knew coming here we had to play well to win this ballgame, we don’t have to prove nothing to nobody but ourselves but we know what we have in here and as long as we stick together we’ll be ok.

On Brandon SpikesHe had a huge game. I mean he cause two, three fumbles. One was on the goal line that was huge, that was seven points. He’s coming into his own, he’s becoming an elite player and you know what were going to need that from everybody. Everybody’s going to need to step up and you know what we have the guys to do it, we definitely have the guys to do it so when your name is called you never know when it’s going to be, but when it’s called you got to perform well and I think a lot of guys want to play well for us.

On all the big hits on defenseAnytime after a big play you feel good, especially after a big hit, I felt good, our defense felt good, the crowd felt good, the Patriots fans that we had. That was a momentum swing, sometimes it’s not all about scoring or turning over the ball and stuff like that, it can be a simple play and it was and once we had that play everything fell into place for us and that’s what we’re going to need and you don’t know what it’s going to be each week but whatever it is we need to figure it out because I like that feeling.

WIDE RECEIVER WES WELKER

On the heart the Patriots showed coming back from down 21-7 in the third quarter:I think so. I think it tells a lot about a team whenever you’re down like that and you just keep on fighting, keep on staying after it, and eventually good things happen. We were able to do that today.

On how the offense exploded in the second half:They have a good team and they got out to a good start on us and played really well. I think we just played really, really well in the second half. We were able to really kind of come together and make some plays and we were able to come out with the win.

On if they were planning on running the ball the way they did:I don’t think you really take your foot off the pedal at all as a receiver. Eventually we’re going to have to pass the ball and make some plays in the pass game. The running backs and offensive line did a phenomenal job and hats off to them. It really does make our job a lot easier when they have to think about the run like that.

On how important it is to have Tom Brady running the offense:It’s a big part of it. Tom’s always going to fight to the end, and knowing that you have that at your quarterback position makes you want to fight until the end. I think ultimately everybody did that and came together and we were able to win.

On if the offense was keying on Welker’s matchup against Bills CB Justin Rogers:Yeah, I mean there were some plays there in the first half where I was telling Tommy ‘I’m getting open on some of these plays, come find me.’ He does a great job of analyzing the matchups and we just try and take advantage of them and win those matchups. He got me on a few plays where I’d like to have the route back, but ultimately we were able to make some plays and win the game.

If he was expecting to throw the ball a lot in the game:I don’t know. You go into every game, you don’t really know what to expect at the end of the day. You have an idea, ultimately the game changes from time to time. Situations don’t go, different things like that, luckily we were able to stay pretty balanced, and the run game was really good for us. Especially throwing those passes.

On making key plays:Had a key drive, driving the ball pretty well, 3rd down where Danny (Woodhead) made a great play on Tom (Brady)’s scramble we were able to get that touchdown. I think that really helped us out. I’m thinking ‘3rd down, we don’t get it, it could be a different game’ luckily we were able to make that play, defense got a stop, and we were able to score again, and it kind of put us in the driver’s seat.

On trying not to panic:I don’t think you ever really panic, you just go out there and play your game, go out there and try to score points, and let everything else kind of take care of itself. When you are down like that, you almost don’t have anything to lose at that point, you just got to go out there and play, and try to fight back.

On running the ball:We have the players to do it, our offense does a good job , we did no huddle for quite a bit, we definitely have those opportunities to make those runs.

On the fumble at the end of the half:That was huge. Since I am the one that fumbled, for them to go in there. Hats off to the defense, for making that big play, it really put us in a good position going into half time, and being able to fight back going into the 2nd half.

On the dominance in the 2nd half:Just going fast, we were able to run the ball, getting some second and shorts, able to really move the chains, it really helped us get down there, ultimately Danny (Woodhead) made a great play, and Tom (Brady) as well.